Projectile



Sept w, 1946 c. B. FERRE-rl. 2,407,264 f PROJECTILE Filed Oct. 20, 1942 ATTORNEYS, n

Patented Sept. 1Q, 1946 meer ATENT OFFICE PROJ E CTILE tion of `Nevada Application @october 20, 1942, Serial No. '462,700

'3 Claims. l

This invention relates to projectiles for use in rifles and like iirearms, and particularly to their structure.

Explosives may in general be classed in two groups, to wit, explosives of the burning type, and lexplosives of the detonating type. In the operation of rifles and guns, Iwhether they be of small or large caliber, an explosive of the burning type is generally employed, as this produces a large volume of gas under high pressure which functions as the propelling agent for the projec tile.

Due to a general knowledge of explosives and also as aresult of numerous experiments performed, I have come to the conclusion and have demonstrated and proved that a detonatng type of explosive can be more efficiently employed as a kpropelling agent of projectiles than a burning type of explosive, as Vmuch greater muzzle velocity and penetrating or striking force can be obtained. This is due to the fact that I have designed a projectile which utilizes and is impelled not only by the brisance or impact of the wave of detonation set up by the explosive when detonated, but also by the impact of a concentrated and directed compression wave produced by the gases generated during detonation.

The projectile and the manner in which the detonating type of explosive is employed is shown by way of illustration inthe accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged central longitudinal section of the projectile;

Fig. 2 is a similar enlarged section of the rear end of the projectile;

Fig. 3 is a section of the primary detonating charge, to wit, iulminate of mercury or the like;

Fig. 4 .is a perspective View of the main detonating charge, and

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of a portion of a rifle showing the projectile placed therein in position to be fired.

Referring to the drawing in detail, and particularly to Figs. l and 2, it will be noted that the projectile is fairly long and has a main body portion A terminating in a closed, pointed forward end 2. A longitudinally extending chamber 3 is formed within the projectile, which is open at the rear end and terminates in a iiat face 4 at the forward end. The body of the projectile is made of steel as forces generated within it are large. Steel equivalent to so-called cold rolled or mild steel will, however, suffice, and for this reason a soft metal jacket 0f Copper or the like, to engage the rif-ling of a gun barrel, may be eliminated as an annular fin 5 projecting from the body and 'formed integrally therewith has been found to give suiiciently to engage the rifling and insure spinning action when the projectile is Vrlred. In a S0-caliber rifle in which projectiles of this vtype have been employed, it has been 'found that the viin need only project about t1i000 o'f an inch to insure satisfactory engagement with relation to the rifling.

The explosive charge employed is Vor the detonating type and is placed directly in the chamber 3. The charge is divided into two sections, indicated at B andC, and while both are of the detonating type, one, to wit, the section C, is made of a more sensitive type, such as fulminate of mercury, whilethe other vmay be of a less sensitive type, such as trinitro-toluene, or the like. Trinitro-toluene has been found satisfactory as it may be compressed and `molded into sticks b which are provided with a recess -6 at the inner end and a cone-shaped chamber 'l at the outer end. .A stick of 'this character is placed in chamber 3 and then the Vdisc C of fulminate of mercury, and on top thereof is placed a compressed thin disc of trinitro-toluene, or like material, such as indicated at '8,`to-seal and retain the explosive Vcharge -within the projectile. The disc '8 is pressed into place andis sprung `into annular groove-9 tofinsure retention .andsealing In :actual practice, the projectile, constructed and loaded as described, operates `substantially asffollows:

When placed in a gun or `rifle barrel, such as shown at It! in Fig. 5, the rear aring end il of the projectile will engage and be held in place by asimilar flaring .seat l2 kformed at the end of the bolt :head 1'4 of the gun. This head also carries a firing pin l5 and when this strikes the disc 8, a suiicient blow is imparted to detonate the fulminate of mercury, which in turn detonates the main charge B. The waves produced by detonation travel in the direction of arrows a, with a velocity of several thousand meters per second, and as the brisance or violence of the blow produced by the waves of detonation are directed against the flat face 4, the projectile will be propelled in a forward direction with a velocity proportional to the intensity of the Waves absorbed in the forward portion of the projectile.

Substantially simultaneous with this wave propelling of the projectile compression Waves produced by the burning gases are also traveling in a forward direction with substantially the same velocity, and these waves also impact against the face 4 and thereby further aid in in- 3 creasing the total force and increasing the velocity of the projectile when red.

An important feature of the present invention, and one that must be thoroughly understood, is the fact that the action of a detonating explosive is much more powerful in the direction in which the waves of detonation are traveling than in the opposite direction in th'at the said waves move in the path of least resistance which, in the present case, is from the rear end of the projectile, as the explosive wave-producing accelerating charge therein is consumed, to the forward end thereof. In addition thereto, I have found that if the charge be hollowed out or conesh'aped, as shown at l in Fig. 1, that theeffect of the waves acting upon the projectile are intensified considerably. The reason seems to be that when the waves of detonation reach`the cone-shaped hollow, Waves of compression start out perpendicular to the conical surface, and these meet in the center, producing a much greater acceleration effect than an ordinary detonation wave. This action is just the same as the intensification elect produced where two waves meet in a piece of detonating fuse. Hence, it should be clear that the projectile shown in this instance is not only propelled by the brisance or impact against the face 4 of the detonated wave alone, but also by the wave of compression produced by the cone-shaped chamber 'l formed at the outer end of the main detonating charge. rIhe pressure of the gases produced may be utilized to a certain extent but is not depended upon, as the bolt head structure in this instance is such that the moment gas pressure reaches a predetermined point the bolt begins to recede and the gases are then permitted to discharge and vent themselves to the atmosphere, such release of the gases being desirable as heat is thus quickly liberated and dissipated, permitting a gun or rifle of this character to be used for rapid re, such as machine guns and the like, without excessive heating.

The disc 8, which retains and seals the main explosive charge and the primary detonator, is both combustible and explosive in itself and is, of course, completely converted into gas just as the main and primary charges are when the projectile is detonated. Hence, when the projectile discharges from the end of the barrel and the gases have escaped, no residual matter will remain and the barrel is thus clean and open to receive the next projectile. v

While I have particularly referred to fulminate of mercuryv as a primary detonator, and trinitrotoluene as the main charge and less sensitive detonator, it is obvious that many other types of detonating explosives may be employed. For instance, in place if trinitro-toluene I may employ dynamite, picric acid, gun cotton and similar detonating materials.

While this and other features of my invention have been more or less specically described and illustrated, I Wish it understood that changes may be resorted to Within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described and illustrated my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A projectile of the class described comprising, a cylindrical body portion terminating in a pointed forward endA an elongated chamber formed within the projectile, open at the rear and terminating in a flat face adjacent the forward end, a wave producing propelling detonating explosive filling the major portion of the chamber said charge having a cone-shaped chamber formed in its forward end with the base of the cone adjacent the nat faced end of the chamber in which the charge is placed, a primary detonating explosive charge rearwardly thereof, a disc of explosive material covering the primary explosive, and means for retaining said disc and both charges against removal from the chamber.

2. A projectile of the class described comprising, a cylindrical body portion terminating in a pointed forward end, an elongated chamber formed within the projectile, open at the rear and terminating in a ilat face adjacent the forward end, a wave producing propelling detonating explosive filling the major portion of the chamber said charge having a cone-shaped chamber formed in its forward end with the base of the cone adjacent the flat faced end of the chamber in which the charge is placed, a primary detonating explosive charge rearwardly thereof, a disc of explosive material covering the primary explosive, and an annular groove formed in the inner face of the chamber adjacent the rear end thereof -to receive and retain the disc in engagement with the primary charge.

3. A projectile of the class described comprising, a cylindrical body portion terminating in a pointed forward end, an elongated chamber formed within the projectile, open at the rear and terminating in a flat face adjacent the forward end, a molded compressed wave producing propelling explosive detonating charge filling the major portion of the chamber, a primary explosive detonating charge disposed in Contact and rearwardly thereof, means for sealing and retaining both charges within the chamber, and a coneshaped chamber formed in the forward end of the molded compressed charge to concentrate and direct the said propelling waves produced by detonation against the flat face at the forward end of the chamber in unison with a detonation wave produced by detonation of the explosive detonating charges.

CLYDE B. FERREL. 

